“In the initial stages of the emergency, we did not know how many people were involved, and what their injuries would be.

“Staff from across the hospital worked together smoothly and swiftly to prepare for a serious event involving multiple casualties and I’d like to acknowledge their professionalism."

The 7.55am Doomben-Cleveland train overshot the tracks and crashed into Cleveland station at 9.40am, ploughing six metres into into the men's and women's bathrooms.

There were 13 passengers in the train's six carriages and five people on the platform at the time.

A woman in the ladies bathroom was lucky to escape without serious injury, but police Superintendent Jim Keogh said the male bathrooms bore the brunt of the damage.

“Certainly could have had catastrophic circumstances if a male person had been in the toilets - he certainly would have died," Superintendent Keogh said.

Queensland Rail issued a statement reporting all customers and staff had safely left the train and station building by 11.30am.

But the crash has sent shock waves through the local community.

Brian Scott, from Redlands Realty, ran to the station after he heard a “really loud noise” and saw a “huge cloud of smoke and dust”.

“It was like a big roar, and then a thud - it was pretty frightening,” Mr Scott said.

“We saw the train in the air and inside the platform it was unbelievable. Not much exciting happens this end of the world. I think we’ll be talking about this for a while.”

Another local man, who did not wish to be named, said he and his friend helped pull the young woman found in the bathroom to safety.

"The force had pushed her up against the other wall - she was inside the cubicle," he said. "My mate pulled of the door he grabbed her - she said nothing, she was clearly in shock.

"She had her earphones in she hadn’t heard anything."

He said there was an elderly woman at the station "just screaming" in the wake of the incident.

"I've never seen anything like it," he said.

Meanwhile Acting Station Officer for Cleveland Station Rob Hawxwell said he arrived on scene to discover that his 16- year-old-son was but seconds away from entering the men's bathroom when the train crashed through.

"He was just feet away," Mr Hawxkwell said. "He’s gone home very shaken."

Mr Hawxwell said it took emergency crews between five to 10 minutes to remove people from the back end of the first carriage.

He said they appeared to have suffered only scrapes and bumps.

Queensland Rail cut power to the station after the crash caused damage to overhead powerlines.

Services are currently suspended between Cleveland and Wellington Point and eight buses are being used to transport customers between the stations.

The Rail Safety Regulator is on site and salvage crews are moving in to determine how to remove the train.